'I did not realize': Vance admits he only recently figured out why Trump wants Greenland

Vice President J.D. Vance told U.S. service members at the Pituffik Space Base in Greenland Friday that "didn't realize" until recently what they do while there.

Vance was on a "national security" visit to the autonomous territory which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, which President Donald Trump has said must be acquired by the United States for safety reasons.

“We need Greenland for international safety and security. We need it. We have to have it,” Trump said in an interview on Wednesday.

Vance's wife was scheduled to have more of a cultural trip to Greenland, but after failing to find anyone willing to greet her, that plan was changed, USA Today wrote.

"I think a lot of Americans wonder why does Greenland matter so much? Why does the mission of this base matter so much to the American people," Vance said. "And I have learned a lot about that today myself. You can read about it in a book, but I saw it up close and personal."

Vance said, "to my fellow Americans," that there is a concern that "if a missile was fired from an enemy country or enemy submarine into the United States, it is the people here before us who would give notice to our brave men and women further south in the United States to let people know what was coming and God willing to try to shoot it down and prepare for it."

ALSO READ: GOP senators laugh off idea of Trump invading Greenland — but dodge serious questions

He specifically named "Russia, China, and other nations" are "taking an extraordinary interest in Arctic passageways and Arctic naval routes and in the minerals of the Arctic territories. We need to ensure that America is leading in the Arctic because we know if America does not, other nations will fill the gap where we fall behind."

Vance told the soldiers, "What you guys do is so critically important. I think a lot of Americans — certainly I did not realize it fully until President Trump started talking about the importance of our Arctic mission, about building upon it and ensuring America will lead in the Arctic for the next generation."

See the clip below or at the link here.

- YouTube youtu.be